The scene was so overwhelming that Baldy 'Burke' and Carolina could only stare wide-eyed, their mouths agape, utterly speechless.
If they had to describe their feelings in a single phrase, it would be: It's as if a goddess has descended to earth!
Of course, neither Baldy 'Burke' nor Carolina had ever seen a god. In fact, no one in this world had ever witnessed a divine being—otherwise, the Martyr wouldn't have spent so many years tirelessly searching for one.
Yet, at that moment, both Burke and Carolina couldn't help but wonder: If gods truly exist, perhaps... maybe... this is what they look like?
They could clearly sense a divine aura radiating from Elysia, something utterly beyond human comprehension. It was majestic and profound, like the very essence of divinity emanating from the gods high above.
At the same time, Elysia's endearing expression, her heart-shaped hand gesture, and her blessing-like words stood in stark contrast to this divine aura. It was unmistakable: she wasn't a god, but rather the same lovable, super-social young girl they knew.
Inevitably, a thought surfaced in Baldy 'Burke's' mind. Mythological stories primarily depict how humans ascend to godhood, but stories of gods descending into humanity are almost nonexistent.
That's because it's pointless, he thought. Why would any god foolishly relinquish their divine power to become a mere mortal with nothing?
Yet, gazing at the young girl before him, Baldy 'Burke' suddenly felt a flicker of doubt. He realized he had never asked her about the world she came from before crossing over, nor her identity there.
Shifting the focus back to Elysia, after blowing a kiss at the camera, she beckoned with her finger. The staff she had released, now floating beside her, automatically flew back into her hand.
Her gaze turned to the portal. Perhaps because she had also used space-manipulating abilities, she could now vaguely sense the portal's underlying structure within the dimension she had created.
If I destroy that, she wondered, could I shatter the portal directly and end this tedious monster-spawning process?
To put it bluntly, the portal had been invincible, but now Elysia could see its HP bar.
That settled it. She gently raised her staff, and three massive, light-pink bow limbs materialized before her, forming a colossal arch with Elysia herself at its center.
Aiming her staff at the midpoint of the bow limbs, she condensed an immense amount of energy into a massive, pink arrow perfectly fitted to the bow.
"Pew~"
It wasn't the sound of an arrow being fired, but Elysia's own playful onomatopoeia as she released the shot. In that instant, the pink arrow transformed into a beam of light.
To be precise, it ceased being an "arrow" the moment it was launched, instead becoming a full-fledged energy cannon. The pink beam struck the portal—or rather, blasted its way inside.
Whatever the beam hit, a deafening roar erupted from the portal. Within two seconds, the roar morphed into a pitiful wail, and two seconds later, the portal buckled under the overwhelming energy surge, disintegrating from its very core.
Visually, the portal lasted only about five seconds before being pierced by Elysia's energy cannon and completely dissipating.
"Whew~ All done here?" Elysia said, releasing the energy that had constructed the space. The purple starry sky gradually faded away, and the trio found themselves back in the ability-testing clearing.
However, upon leaving the pocket dimension, Elysia didn't revert to her usual form. She remained in her Herrscher state, the tips of her white high heels lightly touching the ground—her only point of contact as she continued to float.
Seeing this, Carolina couldn't help but glance around warily. "T-the battle isn't over yet?!"
The portal had been destroyed, but Elysia showed no sign of disengaging from combat. The only logical explanation was that the summoner of the portal was still lurking somewhere unseen.
But Elysia simply shrugged. "Who knows? I just think this outfit is so pretty, I want to keep it on a little longer~"
She spread her arms wide and winked at Carolina. "What do you think? Don't I look super cute right now~?"
Carolina's face flushed crimson, her earlier wariness vanishing instantly. She tried to avert her gaze, but her eyes were magnetically drawn back to Elysia.
Noticing this, Elysia lowered her head slightly, adopting a crestfallen expression. "Hmm, not cute enough..."
Carolina snapped to attention. "N-no, no, no! You're... you're extremely cute!"
"Really?" Elysia's dejected look vanished as if by magic, replaced by a radiant smile. "Thank you, Carolina~"
Meanwhile, Baldy "Burke" was contacting personnel inside the White Tower to investigate the incident, manage the aftermath, and secure the area. Although the portal and the subsequent monsters had been dealt with within the purple Aether space, the giant octopus statue still loomed over the scene.
Capturing one alive would have been quite beneficial—a perfect opportunity to study exactly what this thing was.
Pfft—
At that moment, near the White Tower, Thumb Guy suddenly doubled over and vomited a mouthful of blood. The violent destruction of the portal had inflicted a severe backlash on him as its summoner.
"Damn it... damn it, damn it, damn it!!!" His bloodshot eyes glared furiously at Elysia, who stood not far away.
He was a "Tester," assigned by the Eldritch Concord to figure out how to use the Human Skin Book they had seized. After all, they needed to understand its abilities. As a devout Blood God Cultist, he had eagerly accepted the mission and thrown himself into it wholeheartedly. However, after using the book, strange whispers began to echo in his mind, growing louder and clearer with each subsequent use.
These whispers drove Thumb Guy to increasing irritability and mental exhaustion. The two consecutive failures before him now proved to be the final straw, shattering what remained of his sanity.
"Aaaahhh!" He roared incoherently, then abruptly threw the Human Skin Book aside. He dug his hands into his face, clawing at his skin as if trying to tear it off. "Blood sacrifice to the Blood God! Blood offering to the Crimson Sea!"